Playing at Gampel Pavilion was a dream come true for Connecticut native Avery Brown. The Columbia guard had grown up watching games, wondering if he would ever get to hoop with the crowd behind him. He only completed his elementary schooling in New Haven, spending two years at Hamden Hall before transferring to Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts (according to the New Haven Register). The special moment had finally arrived for Brown, but unfortunately, it quickly turned sour.

“It’s going to be exciting, packed arena,” the senior star predicted before the game. “There’s no better feeling, when the lights are on and you’re going out there with your teammates and battling in a war.” Brown had popular friends on the UConn team and on the sidelines. He used to be teammates with g

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